Background
In 1995, Patricia Hansen and Barbara De La Torre were and are Catholic mothers longing for a school in San Diego North County that would provide their children with solid academics and faith formation with an integrated K-12 curriculum. The result takes to heart the fact that the Church recognizes parents as the primary educators of their children, and with the blessing of San Diego Bishop Robert Brom, they founded Sierra Madre Academy in a small commercial building in San Marcos.
During that first year, 25 students attended in grades one to through nine. There were four full-time paid teachers (two were volunteers), a volunteer secretary, and Patricia Hansen as principal and teacher. In the second year, with word of mouth as its only marketing tool, the school tripled its enrollment to 77 students. In 1997 the school leased additional space at another commercial building across a vacant field from the original school building to create at an "upper campus" to accommodate more students. Each year more space was leased at the upper campus until there was a classroom for each grade and one computer classroom. Enrollment leveled off at around 200 students with no more room to hold any more students.
In 2000, the school negotiated a lease for the vacant 3-acre (12,000 m2) lot between the two campuses. With all-volunteer labor and mostly donated materials, parents cleaned up and fenced in the area, installed irrigation, and planted grass. The result: a play field that allowed the school to expand its athletic and recreational opportunities. At the same time, portions of the upper campus parking lot were fenced off for a basketball court.
Sierra Madre Academy (SMA) housed grades K-3 in its original space, the "lower campus," while the upper campus was home to grades 4-12. In the 2004-05 school year, enrollment reached 189 students.
The school is the only complete K-12 school that provides a Catholic education in San Diego County. Parents enroll their children knowing that they can receive 13 years of education that will prepare students for higher education and passes on the essential teachings of the Roman Catholic faith.
Read more about this topic: Saint Joseph Academy (San Marcos, California)
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